Trump Uses Bully Pulpit To Support More Services For People Leaving Prisons

President Trump speaks during a meeting on services for people leaving prison in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on Thursday.

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Originally published on January 12, 2018 11:34 am

President Trump campaigned on a promise of law and order. He courted endorsements from police unions. And he even hinted to an audience of police officers that he supported the idea of roughing up suspects (the White House later said he was joking).

But on Thursday, the White House deployed the "bully pulpit" on behalf of a very different constituency: prisoners struggling when they return home.

At a roundtable with policy experts and elected officials, Trump expressed a desire to "break this vicious cycle" of inmates turning to crime when their lives outside prison prove too difficult. Justice Department statistics report that about two-thirds of the 650,000 people who leave the corrections system every year are arrested again — within three years.

"We have a great interest in helping them turn their lives around, get a second chance, and make our community safe," Trump said.

White House aide Jared Kushner, whose father served prison time, has led the way on these issues for months, convening listening sessions and meeting with advocates.

Still, it's not clear the Senate leadership will want to address the issue in 2018, a midterm election year.

A bipartisan effort that began under former President Barack Obama aimed to reshape everything from the way drug criminals are punished to conditions behind bars. Under Trump, it has downsized into an initiative that would provide more job training, education and mentoring opportunities as those same people prepare to leave prison.

Mark Holden, chairman of the conservative Freedom Partners, said he came away from the White House meeting with a sense of optimism. Trump was an active participant in the session, staying for the whole 45-minute session and asking questions, he said.

"I saw some passion there," Holden said. "He seemed like he got the issue, understood it and connected with it."

Other attendees said the president paid close attention to the idea that states including Texas, South Carolina and Georgia have already overhauled their justice and correctional institutions, with some degree of success.

Brooke Rollins, of the conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation, said her state had shuttered eight prisons and reduced crime.

"I really think the White House is looking at lots of different avenues forward," from congressional action to executive orders, Rollins said.

Outside Congress, another possible obstacle is Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who as a U.S. senator routinely criticized proposals that would grant leniency to drug offenders.

At the Justice Department, Sessions directed prosecutors to bring the most serious charges they could prove against any defendant, rescinding a policy that gave individual prosecutors more discretion. He also signaled he would make use of private prisons, a break from the Obama administration.

Sessions attended the White House meeting Thursday, when he suggested he might be open to compromise on modest ideas such as job training.

"The president talking about prison reform is a good thing," said Kevin Ring, leader of Families Against Mandatory Minimums, which supports inmates and their families.

Now along with border security, the president made law and order a central focus of his presidential campaign. And yesterday, President Trump said he wants to do more to help people who are leaving prison. NPR justice correspondent Carrie Johnson has more.

CARRIE JOHNSON, BYLINE: President Trump considers law enforcement officers among his closest political allies. He says his administration will keep working to reduce crime and put dangerous people behind bars. But Trump says the prison system can be improved.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: We'll be very tough on crime, but we will provide a ladder of opportunity for the future.

JOHNSON: The president says the government needs to help inmates who struggle when they leave prison. The numbers are stark. About two-thirds of the 650,000 people released from prison every year are arrested again within three years.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

TRUMP: We can help break this vicious cycle through job training - very important - job training, mentoring and drug addiction treatment.

JOHNSON: White House aide Jared Kushner, whose father served prison time, has led the way on these issues for months. But Congress has failed to act on broader measures that would cut prison terms for drug offenders. And it's not clear lawmakers will want to address the issue in 2018, a midterm election year. At the Justice Department, Attorney General Jeff Sessions has been reluctant, too. In the U.S. Senate, Sessions supported stiff punishments for criminals. On Thursday, he suggested he might be willing to compromise on modest ideas like job training. Carrie Johnson, NPR News, Washington. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.